Coronavirus Impact

Protecting our staff, customers, and community

First Federal's Statement on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

 

1/22/2021 Update

We want to thank our loyal customers for your patience these last few months. We understand the wait time at our drive-thru lanes has been longer than normal.

Please Remember: Any customer can use the night deposit beside our ATM to make deposits or loan payments. Make sure your name and account number are included with your deposit or loan payment and sealed securely in an envelope. We will mail a receipt of your transaction to you, and of course, First Federal’s online banking, mobile app with mobile deposit, and drive-up ATM are available 24/7 for your banking needs.

Thank you for your patience as we continue following COVID-19 precautions to keep our employees, customers and our community safe.

11/13/2020 Update

Due to the pandemic and the rapidly growing cases of COVID, First Federal will be closing our lobby beginning Monday, November 16th. Lobby access will be limited to appointments only. If you need access to the lobby, please call us at 419-238-1463. Masks will be required in the lobby.

Normal business transactions will be conducted through the drive thru. Our ATM remains accessible during this time. All other online and electronic business applications remain operational.

We appreciate your cooperation during this nationwide health emergency.

7/22/2020 Update

Gov. Mike DeWine announced today a statewide mandate for Ohio that will go into effect Thursday, July 23, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. Under the public health order, individuals will be required to wear facial coverings when in an indoor location that is not a residence or are outdoors and unable to be six feet from people who are not members of their household. Due to this change, First Federal asks that our customers wear a facial covering upon entry to our building after identified at our lobby door.

Exceptions to the order include children under 10 years old; those who have a medical condition or disability; or those who are trying to communicate with someone who has a disability. Thank you for your cooperation.

7/2/2020 Update

Reminder:  Our First Federal lobby is OPEN during normal business hours Monday through Friday. The lobby is closed on Saturdays except for appointments only. For your safety and convenience, we encourage you to continue to use our drive-thru services as well as our online and mobile products. Customer safety is important to us, therefore you will notice plastic shields at the teller windows, and floor markers for social distancing. While we look forward to seeing you, masks will be covering our friendly smiles!

6/5/2020 Update

First Federal is continuing to serve your banking needs with our drive-thru lanes, 24/7 ATM, and our full suite of online & mobile banking services including mobile check deposit.

Effective June 8th, the bank lobby will be reopened for Monday – Friday regular business hours, and Saturday 9-12 by appointment only.

Before entering our bank lobby:

  • Please approach the front entrance WITHOUT A MASK.
  • Our team members will let you in once they have identified you.
  • Please WAIT TO PUT ON YOUR MASK until we have identified you.

Important Things to Remember:

  • We are continuously receiving & reviewing updates on the coronavirus from Governor Dewine’s Office and Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).
  • We are providing regular updates to our employees to keep them informed & ensure they have the resources needed to remain healthy while also serving our customers.
  • Our employees are doing health self-assessments each morning before coming to work. Any employee experiencing illness symptoms before or during work will follow strict notification & possible quarantine procedures.
  • Continue to primarily use our drive-thru for your regular banking needs.
  • Please do NOT visit First Federal if you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or if you have any reason to believe you may have been exposed to the COVID-19 virus.
  • Our team members will be wearing face coverings when meeting with customers inside the bank.
  • We may ask you to remove your face covering for security & identification purposes.
  • Do not shake hands or engage in any other physical contact.
  • Practice Social Distancing and maintain a minimum 6-foot distance from others.
  • We have hand sanitizer available at every teller window and each office for use by customers & employees.
  • We are limiting the number of customers inside the bank.
  • Plastic shields have been installed at teller windows.
  • If using a pen, please take the pen with you!
  • Enhanced cleaning & disinfecting occurs throughout each day.
  • Restrooms are CLOSED to customers at this time.

Thank you for your patience & understanding during this ongoing health crisis. We value your business at First Federal!

5/15/2020 Update

First Federal is continuing to serve your banking needs with our drive-thru lanes, 24/7 ATM, and our full suite of online and mobile banking services, including mobile check deposits. We continue to allow lobby access for loan appointments and other critical bank appointments only, such as new account openings and safe deposit box access. Please do not make an appointment if you are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms or if you know of any reason you may have been exposed. If you need to make an appointment, please contact us at 419-238-1463. As you arrive to your banking appointment, please approach the front entrance without a mask until our team member identifies you for entry. We are continuously receiving and reviewing updates on coronavirus from Governor DeWine's Office and Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). Please be assured that the health and safety of our employees and customers are our highest priority. We will keep you updated on when our lobby will reopen for transaction processing along with any procedure changes within our lobby that may occur during this time. Also, for the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend, we will be open on Saturday, May 23rd to meet your drive-thru needs, and will be closed on Monday, May 25, 2020 in observance of Memorial Day. 

4/29/20 Update

First Federal of Van Wert continues to monitor the Coronavirus situation, as the State of Ohio starts the Responsible Restart Ohio campaign. The health and safety of our employees, our customers, and our community remain our highest priority. Due to recent recommendations, First Federal is continuing to operate all possible transactions through the drive-thru with normal business hours. However, we will begin allowing loan appointments and other critical bank appointments for lobby access beginning on Monday, May 4th, 2020. 

If you need to make an appointment for loans, safe deposit box access, new account openings, or other critical reasons, please contact us at 419-238-1463. For appointments, we encourage our customers to wear a mask and gloves upon entry to our building after identified at our lobby door. To limit access, customers will be directed to our front conference room or vestibule area for signing documents. Our customer restroom facilities will remain unavailable. We will keep you updated when our lobby will reopen for transaction processing. First Federal continues to provide our terrific customer service via the drive-thru, our ATM, or over the telephone. Please continue to call us with any questions to meet your banking needs.                           

4/16/20 Update

Economic Impact Payments:

Due to the recently passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, you may be receiving an Economic Impact Payment which provides funds to help you with everyday expenses. These payments began this week and will continue over the next several weeks. To determine how much you may be eligible to receive, if you do not have an account designated through the IRS to receive your payment, or need to check your payment status, visit the www.irs.gov website.

Your payment will be sent to the bank account used to file your 2019 tax return or to the account where you receive social security. If you did not file your 2019 taxes, your 2018 file information will be used for bank account information. If information is not on file, you may receive the payment in the form of a check.

Additionally, there is guidance at www.irs.gov for you if you did not file 2018 or 2019 federal income tax returns or the reason stimulus monies may not be received for dependents that fall in the age group of 17 – 24.

You may check your transactions using your First Federal online banking account, mobile app, or call us to see if your deposit has arrived. The stimulus payment will be described as IRS TREAS 310 TAX REF. First Federal hopes this economic relief will assist you in managing your finances. Please let us know if you have any questions regarding your First Federal accounts.

Be sure you are only visiting trusted IRS or US Treasury websites. For your security, do not respond to any requests for personal or account information over the phone, text, or email.

COVID-19 Financial Hardship Mortgage Payment Deferment Program:

We understand this situation is difficult in so many ways, including your personal finances. First Federal is committed to our customers during this difficult time. If your job or income has been negatively affected by COVID-19, you can request to defer your regular monthly mortgage payment for up to 90 days or 3 regular monthly payments. Customers who choose this program will not be charged any new late fees, and loan accounts will be reported as current. Any loan accounts that are previously delinquent will continue to be reported delinquent until past due payments are made.

If you are unable to make your regular monthly mortgage payment, please contact one of our lenders at 419-238-1463 to learn more about our COVID-19 Financial Hardship Program.

 

3/23/20 Update

As First Federal of Van Wert continues to monitor the Coronavirus situation, I want to provide you an update on what you can expect from your team here at First Federal. We are reviewing and adhering to the guidance from the Federal and State government. The safety of our team, our customers and our community remains our highest priority.

As directed by the Governor of Ohio, there is a 'stay at home' order for all Ohio residents. Financial institutions are considered essential service providers and will remain open during the Governor DeWine administration's order. In an effort to provide social distancing requested by the Governor, we are limiting access to our lobby to critical appointments only. First Federal continues to provide full teller service through our drive-thru. Please remember our ATM is accessible 24/7 and our online and mobile banking products are available for you to conduct your banking at home.

First Federal is also following the Center for Disease Control's guidelines for cleaning and social interaction. We are implementing procedures to ensure that our customers will continue to receive our great customer service during this difficult time period. Please be assured that First Federal is well-positioned for times like these. Despite the temporary adjustments, we remain committed to you and your banking needs. If there is something we can help you with during this ongoing crisis, don't hesitate to reach out to us at 419-238-1463. Together we can overcome the current crisis. If we all do our part by listening and acting on the recommendations from our trusted agencies, we will get through this!

I thank you for your patience and your cooperation. And from all of us at First Federal, we thank you for your continued friendships!

Respectfully,

Brian Renner
President/CEO

3/16/2020 Update

First Federal of Van Wert continues to monitor the Coronavirus situation. The health and safety of our employees, our customers, and our community remain our highest priority. Due to the recent recommendations from the State of Ohio and the Federal Government, First Federal is operating all possible transactions through the drive-thru with normal business hours. We will limit lobby access to loan appointments and other critical bank appointments only. This will go into effect beginning on Tuesday, March 17th, 2020.  We will keep you updated when the lobby will reopen.

Please be assured that all bank productions are working as normal. First Federal will continue our normal banking processes during this time period so that electronic activity continues as normal. We will continue to provide our terrific customer service via the drive-thru or over the telephone. Our ATM will remain in normal operations.

If you need to make a lobby appointment for loans, safe deposit boxes or other reasons, please contact us at 419-238-1463. Please don't hesitate to call with questions, we are still here for you.

We thank you for your patience during this temporary adjustment. We know this is an adjustment and may be an inconvenience, but together we can get through this with an understanding of the crisis at hand. We will get through this!

3/12/2020 Notice

First Federal of Van Wert continues to monitor the Coronavirus. The health and safety of our employees and our customers remain our highest priority during this current situation. First Federal is taking extra measures to protect our employees, our customers, and our community. Here are some items we will be enacting to help during this time:

  • While we're always excited to see our customers, we will not be shaking hands for the extended period.  However, you'll continue to be welcomed with our friendly greetings and smiles.
  • We will enhance our office cleaning with multiple cleanings of customer areas during the day.
  • The First Federal team will strictly adhere to staying home if they are feeling ill.

Our office is running business operations as normal. During this current situation, it's a good time to remind our customers of the following First Federal digital and mobile banking products:

  • Online Banking (go to ENROLL to sign up)
  • Billpay / PopMoney
  • eStatements
  • Mobile Banking
  • Mobile Deposit
  • TransferNow
  • eAlerts
  • Mobile App
  • Card Valet

First Federal will continue to monitor this situation, along with input and recommendations from the WHO, Federal, State and Local government agencies.  We will provide updates via this website and through our Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter pages.

We thank you for your business and your continued friendships.

 

 Loan Officers 2

Make your MOVE with US

Whether you are a first-time home buyer, looking for a new home, refinancing your existing home or in need of a home equity line of credit, First Federal has a variety of residential mortgage loan products to fit your borrowing needs.  If it is your business that requires financing, our commercial lender can help find a solution to your needs.

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